Women & Family Life Center empowers women and their families to face challenges and life transitions with grace and dignity.

At A Glance

Year of Incorporation1991

Organization's type of tax exempt statusPublic Supported Charity

Organization received a competitive grant from the community foundation in the past five yearsYes

Leadership

CEO/Executive DirectorMs. Peggy Britt

Board Chair Alexandra Miele

Board Chair Company AffiliationAndriole Group of HighTower

Financial Summary

Projected Revenue$286,125.00

Projected Expenses$281,594.00

Statements

Mission

Women & Family Life Center empowers women and their families to face challenges and life transitions with grace and dignity.

Background

Women & Family Life (W&FL) provides services to individuals from throughout the central Connecticut shoreline who are facing acute crisis, require support for the transitions in life, or are seeking community and personal growth. Our purpose is to help women, youth and families connect with each other, and with related services in our community, through education, support, wellness, and referral services.

W&FL originally came together as a community outreach center for women and children at the Peace & Justice Center of St. George’s Church in Guilford in 1989. In 1991, WFLC secured non-profit status, the first Executive Director was hired, and programs to help shoreline families were expanded to meet the mission. The organization moved to its present location, at 96 Fair Street, in 1998 after a successful capital campaign. Our programs and services have been growing ever since.

Impact

The Women & Family Life Center helps women and their families face crises and major life transitions. For more than two decades, we have provided a safe, intimate setting for women to face changes, challenges, and crises with grace, dignity and the support of a community of peers. We help women connect with others, learn and grow, and find the resources they need to create successful life transitions. We serve more than 1,000 community members each year through our key programming areas:

. "It is the most amazing feeling to walk into a support group and feel your heart lift because you are finally in the one place where you can feel understood.” Trained facilitators lead groups to help women grieve, heal, and start new chapters in their lives.

As the economy lags, we continue to see the stress it puts on women and their families and it is clear that we need to do more. Over the next three years, W&FL will significantly expand programs to serve women in transition.

Pre/Post Natal Programs. Even the most positive life transitions, such as becoming a mother, can result in feeling overwhelmed and isolated, which can lead to a decrease in both physical and mental wellbeing. W&FL will fill a growing gap in programming along the Shoreline available to new mothers.

The number of people needing our services has risen steadily over the past 5 years and the needs are becoming more urgent. Requests for domestic violence support services are increasing, requests for housing assistance exceed our capacity to help. At the same time, participation in our wellness programs has decreased, thus decreasing our earned income and making us more reliant on donations. We have not made significant maintenance or improvements to our 220 year old facility in many years and it is showing signs of wear. Specific needs identified include:

1. Increase our community outreach and marketing of our programs to ensure that women in need know about our programs. To do this we need to develop a suite of marketing materials, pay for advertising, and expand staffing levels to include a communications/outreach coordinator who can help improve communications, garner and organize volunteer participation, and develop referral networks among social service and medical providers in the area ($30,000).

2. Continue to improve our internal data/communications management. We have made significant strides in this area in the past year, upgrading technology, implementing online registration that is related to our database, thus decreasing the amount of staff time spent on administrative logistics. The next step is to clean up our database, expand our website to improve communications about programs and to make it less static and easier to navigate. ($5,000)

W&FL is a unique, progressive organization. We work to empower women going through divorce, parents raising kids (from babies to teens), individuals seeking cutting edge health and wellness information, people seeking community or connection, retired women, and those who don't know where else to turn.

This economic downturn has been challenging for so many, and the demand for our services has increased. A large portion of our operating funds is received via direct support from the community (and we receive no state or federal funding), and many of our donors share their appreciation of their investment going directly to help our local community. We will continue to strive to provide high quality services, and depend on the generous support of our donors to continue to enhance and expand what we do.

Board Chair Statement

As Women & Family Life Center enters its 22nd year, I am very proud of the progress we have made in serving our communities along the shoreline of Connecticut. Since 2007 we have experienced a 30% growth in the number of people served which was 1300 in a year. A few of our accomplishments include our involvement with a multi-disciplinary Shoreline Domestic Violence Task Force since January 2010, establishment of on-line resources which include our weekly blog and Weekly Fare and GirlsCoach*GirlsRun. This is a peer to peer mentoring program that included 75 girls from Branford, Guilford and Madison.

I love that we touch so many women/families for a wide range of reasons. Women helping, advocating and supporting other women are for me how we can make a difference in the world we live in. Women & Family Life Center epitomizes this belief.

Service Categories

Primary Organization CategoryHealth Care / Public Health

Secondary Organization CategoryMental Health & Crisis Intervention /

Areas Served

Branford

Guilford

Madison

Shoreline

While our geographic service area focuses on Branford, Guilford and Madison, we will provide services to anyone. With our expanding programs, we find we are serving women from east and north of New Haven to Old Saybrook to the east.

Women and Family life provides wrap-around
services, that includes emotional support, legal and financial knowledge, and
community building, for women facing difficult life transitions, such as
divorce, as well as happy life transitions that can also be very stressful and
isolating, such as having a baby. Our crisis support services are
offered free of charge to ensure that all women are able to receive the help
they need. Scholarships are available for our fee-based programs for
participants who need partial or full support.

Examples of Program SuccessHelpOrganization's site specific examples of changes in clients' behaviors or testimonies of client's changes to demonstrate program success. Testimonial from a participant in one of the educational programs for new parents: "The WFLC offered a place where as a new mom I could meet other new moms and I was able to ask questions to Laura in a very welcoming environment. Laura is such a wonderful asset to the WFLC and I felt I could ask for her advice and never be judged. It was comforting to see other parents going through the same things I was and I could learn from them. She offers a class with a fun learning and entertaining environment for the kids and parents. The moms in my group definitely bonded and will most likely be friends for a very long time. I really enjoyed going and spending time with my child in a way that is so much different than at home."

W&FL provides trained facilitators
to help women through all phases of their lives. Group sessions provide a community
of peers that supports each other through grief, healing from trauma, and new
beginnings. In addition, we are the only area provider of supervised visitation
services for parents going through divorce where the court has ordered that a
trained professional supervise a child’s visit with the non-custodial parent.

Participants will report improved well being, including moving from feeling isolated to have a sense of community and support; improved knowledge of resources available; improved sense of well-being and coping.

We respond
to approximately 500year from
individuals needing assistance. These on-on-one consultations provide
everything from a quick connection to more detailed plans for dealing with a
crisis. If we are unable to
provide a program or service ourselves, we connect the person with a local
community service.

W&FL also partners with Domestic
Violence Services of New Haven and Guilford Youth & Family Services to
provide the only domestic violence services on the shoreline. W&FL serves
as a safe place for women to begin their journey to a new life and access to
domestic violence counseling, legal services, and other resources necessary to
make this difficult life change.

Our educational programs serve a broad spectrum - from teens to
seniors – and are designed to meet the changing needs of our community. They
invite community members to connect around common areas of interest and offer
valuable information and skills to help individuals improve their lives and
deal with life challenges.

There is no other organization like Women & Family Life
Center. We provide a safe place, intimate place for women & families to
face crises or major life transitions. In short, we help people when they feel their most vulnerable.

With two hurricanes and off-season snow storms in the last
two years, I think we all got a taste of what it is like to be vulnerable,
cut-off from each other, and from the resources we rely on. For many, we got a
reminder of how much we need each other and how powerful it is to come together
as a community.

All year long, people feel this way in our community. Women
and men enter our door with the stamp of fear on their faces, or the phone
rings and there are just tears on the other end.

Life has thrown them for a loop and they frightened,
overwhelmed, and feel alone and they don’t know where to turn. I can’t tell you
how many times, someone comes to us and says “I don’t know if I am in the right
place…” Our answer is simply – “You are.”

Our programs give women & families the emotional
support, and skills & knowledge they need to not just survive, but to
thrive through any transition. If we don’t have just the right program, our
extensive referral program assures they get to just the right place.

I invite you to become involved in Women & Family Life,
as a donor, a volunteer, or board member. W&FL gives each of just the right
place to be, giving us the opportunity to come together and to ensure that our neighbors
have a safe, supportive place to go when life throws them a loop.

CEO/Executive Director

Ms. Peggy Britt

Term StartMay 2011

Emailpbritt@WomenAndFamilyLife.org

Experience

Current position since 2011.

Previous Positions:

VP for Strategic Initiatives, Earth Force, Inc.

Development Director, Wild Swan Theater

Assistant Director/Communications Director, Michigan Sea Grant

Assistant Director, National Consortium for Environmental Education and Training

Wendy DeLucca earned her Master’s in Education from Harvard
University, where she studied various issues related to education, including
working with at-risk boys, understanding traumatized children, and using the
arts to engage learners. Her
professional experiences span free-lance journalism, classroom teaching,
fundraising and non-profit programming. Wendy worked in both the Development and Curriculum departments at LEAP,
Inc. in New Haven (Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership). LEAP is a non-profit organization that
provides year-round, out-of-school time programming for children living in
high-poverty neighborhoods. As
Director of Curriculum, she was responsible for three major areas: academic and extracurricular
programming for children; training of high school and college students to prepare
them to work as mentors for the younger children; and data collections and
evaluations. She taught 8th
grade English at Chase Collegiate School (formerly St. Margaret’s-McTernan) in
Waterbury and at Polson Middle School in Madison. A former dancer, Wendy grew up in New Haven, where she
attended public high school and the Educational Center for the Arts Dance Department
before attending Wesleyan University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree. Wendy is a member of the Exchange Club
of Greater New Haven and is an active volunteer for the Connecticut Chapter of
the Alzheimer’s Association.

Formal Evaluations

CEO Formal EvaluationYes

CEO/Executive Formal Evaluation FrequencyAnnually

Senior Management Formal EvaluationYes

Senior Management Formal Evaluation FrequencyAnnually

Non Management Formal EvaluationYes

Non Management Formal Evaluation FrequencyAnnually

Collaborations

Partnerships are essential to our mission, enabling W&FL to bring expertise from local, state and regional organizations to the CT shoreline residents. Our collaborative efforts ensure tightly coordinated services and a progression of programs to assist women through lengthy transitions. Many of our partnerships and collaborations are described above. Our organizational partners include:

Branford Early Education Collaborative

Branford Police Department

Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven

Food Allergy Education Network

Guilford Free Library

Guilford Public Schools

Guilford Police Department

Guilford Social Services

Guilford Youth and Family Services

Hygeia Foundation

Madison Public Schools

Madison Police Department

Madison Youth & Family Services

Shoreline Arts Alliance

Women & Families Center

Yale-New Haven Hospital

In addition, we collaborate with many community volunteers who provide skilled professional services such as counseling and group facilitation, office and administrative support, grounds keeping, event coordination, and legal guidance. Our effective use of volunteers allows W&FL to provide many community services with a small staff base.

With our extreme weather in the last two years, many of us
have gain a deeper understanding of what if feels like to be vulnerable -- cut-off
from each other, and from the resources we rely on. For many, we got a reminder
of how much we need each other and how powerful it is to come together as a
community.

All year long, people feel this way in our communityI can’t tell you how many times, when people come to us they
say, “I don’t know if I am in the right place…” Our answer is simply – “You
are.”

Our programs give women & families the emotional
support, and skills & knowledge they need to not just survive, but to
thrive through any transition. If we don’t have just the right program, our
extensive referral program assures they get to support programs they need.

I encourage you to become a part of Women & Family Life
as a volunteer, a donor, or a board member.

Women and Family Life has experienced significant increase in numbers of community members needing support, counseling and referral services. At the same time, our fee-based programs have lost participation due to economic pressures. We are proud to have been able to respond by increasing efficiencies and decreasing costs to meet the increasing demand on a flat budget. We are continuing to find ways to invest in our infrastructure to increase efficiency.

We are not required to conduct an audit and have not undertaken a full financial audit due to budget constraints. However, our financial management is of the highest standards. We employ an external bookkeeping service, have an external CPA review our books annually and complete our annual tax returns, and have a financial professional as Treasurer who provides oversight on a monthly basis.

Foundation Staff Comments

This profile, including the financial summaries prepared and submitted by the organization based on its own independent and/or internal audit processes and regulatory submissions, has been read by the Foundation. Financial information is inputted by Foundation staff directly from the organization’s IRS Form 990, audited financial statements or other financial documents approved by the nonprofit’s board. The Foundation has not audited the organization’s financial statements or tax filings, and makes no representations or warranties thereon. The Community Foundation is continuing to receive information submitted by the organization and may periodically update the organization’s profile to reflect the most current financial and other information available. The organization has completed the fields required by The Community Foundation and updated their profile in the last year. To see if the organization has received a competitive grant from The Community Foundation in the last five years, please go to the General Information Tab of the profile.

Related Information

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